Harry's Inferno
by Sir Chris
Summary: Harry Potter died at the age of seventeen. In another time and place he returned to the world of the living, but in this time and place he has been dragged into the depths of hell along with the rest of the magical world. This is going to be a trip.
1. So, where is my Next Great Adventure?

**A/N: **I wanted to write something not too serious and not too lengthy about Harry Potter. I thought about a scenario that would give me access to characters and situations at my choosing, and this is the idea that stuck with me most. This idea came to me many months ago, but I am just now starting to flesh out ideas to the point that I feel confident in my ability to update this.

As for the pairing, I don't think there are enough Harry and Tonks stories out there. So I'll do it myself, I guess.

Don't ever take this too seriously, it will disappoint you.

**Prologue**: So where is my Next Great Adventure?

* * *

Albus Dumbledore gazed upon the whimpering form of Harry Potter with a look of concern on his face. According to his estimation, and his estimates were usually good, Harry should have been able to stand on his own if he was indeed a Horcrux. Dumbledore stroked his beard for a moment and pondered the possibility that he had misunderstood Voldemort's plans and psyche. If this was the case Harry probably was not going to be too pleased about the whole situation.

"Pr-professor?" The weak moan that escaped Harry Potter pained Dumbledore's heart. Although Dumbledore mused to himself that the pain in his heart at this sight was nothing compared to the pain in his ass if he didn't fix this by the time he met Lily in whatever place the afterlife had to offer him.

"Harry, you need to stand up my boy. Be strong." Dumbledore's voice had no small amount of panic in it, which registered in Harry's mind as he staggered to his feet with the aid of Dumbledore's hand. Dumbledore looked over Harry and was disturbed by how gaunt the boy looked. This was his spirit, it was one of the brightest he had ever had the pleasure of knowing. If his spirit was in such an advanced state of decay Dumbledore feared the worst.

"Professor, what's wrong?" Harry looked Albus in the eye with a similar look of worry in his own eyes. It appeared that Dumbledore was not as good at hiding his thoughts from Harry here.

"Harry, I had theorized and was very sure that Voldemort had made you a Horcrux. If this was the case this place should be a way-station between worlds, one that you are not anchored to. You have nothing to worry about my dear boy; you only need to decide your fate to leave this place." Harry breathed a sigh of relief.

If Albus Dumbledore said everything was going to be okay then there was nothing to fear.

Just as this thought crossed his mind a demon appeared from a crack in the ground and dragged him to hell.

Albus Dumbledore blinked and then said the most appropriate thing he could think of at the time.

"Oh, fuck."

* * *

Harry awoke with a massive headache. He looked around for a moment to discover himself in the middle of a dark cavern. Unlike before, his senses were extremely sharp and he felt the rush of life fill his body. He heard a throaty chuckle to his left. Harry turned his body over to see an elderly man with a staff.

"Young man, I can assure you of one thing: That is not life that fills your body. Not anymore, anyway. Where you are going there is no concept of life as you know it, only suffering and brief respite from that suffering."

There was an absolute certainty to these words that chilled Harry to his core. "Where am I?" Harry asked uncertainly after he had gotten to his feet.

"Hell." The voice replied, quickly and plainly, clearly stating an obvious fact to the young man before him.

"Hell?" Harry asked blankly. His mind had yet to understand the magnitude of the simple answer. "That's bad, right?"

"I'd say so, yes."

"I can't possibly belong here! I have fought against evil my entire life!"

The man looked to his sheet of paper and asked a question from the sheet.

"Did you accept Jesus Christ as your lord and savior, Mr. Potter?"

"Who is Jesus Christ?"

The man looked up from his sheet of paper with a wry smile on his face. "Well, that'd answer _that_ question I believe."

Harry Potter was not amused. After a few moments it was clear that the elderly man had no plans of continuing without prompting.

The elderly man caught the hint and coughed for a couple of moments before continuing on.

"Ah yes, Harry Potter. Your name is spoken down here a lot; you had a profound impact on all the lives you touched. Many years have passed since your death, many years indeed. Your soul is currently right outside of the first circle of hell, Limbo. It is where you truly belong. You have committed no sin Harry Potter, and you are free from the burdens that so many of the people you once knew now have heaped onto them. I hope you have a happy afterlife, Mr. Potter, or what passes for happy down here anyway." The old man turned to leave but Harry was not content with that being the end of the conversation.

"What do you mean burdens? The people I know? I don't understand!" Harry's voice was frantic. He was beyond confused. The last thing he remembered was talking with Dumbledore.

The elderly man let out a humorless laugh at the younger man's confusion. It seemed the young man in front of him had not connected the dots yet. "Isn't it obvious Mr. Potter? After your untimely demise Tom Riddle dominated the wizarding world for nearly one hundred years. Your friends were tortured, raped, and completely brutalized; and all of that is merely from Ron Weasley's complaining about how unfair his life was."

Harry couldn't help but snort. Ron sure did like to bitch a lot. "How did Voldemort meet his end?"

At that question the elderly man got a pained look on his face for a brief moment before settling back into his usual relaxed demeanor.

"He blew himself and the rest of the wizarding world up, naturally. In his last gasp to stay alive, despite his soul being nearly sundered by the abuse he had continually put it through, he tried one ritual too many. It was mere luck that he eradicated only magical beings from the face of the earth. Although even one as old as I can see the irony in that a man who loved magic so much being the one to rid the world of it as amusing; if you are into that sort of twisted humor anyway."

Harry's mind was reeling at this news. Because he had died, magic itself had died? Such a wondrous part of the world was now gone forever all because of him. He had killed magic.

"Anyway, get on your way Mr. Potter. Now that you have awoken from your slumber you must be on your way to limbo. I did not mean to keep you so long. I am truly sorry for taking up so much of your time."

Harry nodded dumbly and moved past the man towards a boat on the horizon that had a sign that read "This way to Limbo. Damned souls only."

The figure watched Harry until he was no longer visible. The man chuckled before he spoke. "So shocked that you didn't even think to ask how I knew your name, Harry James Potter? I hope you will not go quietly into the night, it would be dreadfully boring." With his final comments unheard by anyone or anything Merlin vanished from sight.

* * *

I listen to reviews, both good and bad, and try to respond if I can. I also do not mind people suggesting scenarios or characters for future chapters, I will gladly write something if I believe it has merit, as this fic is going to be shamelessly episodic.

Cheers,

Chris


	2. Lonely in Limbo

**A/N: **People told me to update, so I suppose I can do that. This chapter gets a lot of not nice stuff out of the way so that everyone can laugh later. Let me know if there is anything I can do to improve Tonks, this is actually my first time writing her and I might have missed something subtle.

Disclaimer: Don't ever take this too seriously, it will disappoint you

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**Chapter 1:** Lonely in Limbo

* * *

Harry Potter stared at the small boat in front of him with a familiar figure on it. He knew he probably _should_ have been surprised to see Argus Filch hitting people with an oar on a boat leading to the depths of hell, but he just didn't have it in him.

"You miserable louts are lucky that most of ye are going to Limbo! If it was up to me you'd all rot in the ninth circle!"

End of the magical world or not, it seemed that some things simply never changed. Harry was surprised by how much comfort he found in Filch being his usual mean-spirited self. Harry took a deep breath and decided that there was no point idling on the shore and walked onto the boat.

Filch promptly smacked the back of Harry's head with his oar which caused Harry to stumble to his knees inside of the boat.

Harry rubbed the spot where the oar had hit and winced. "Hey! I was going into the boat already. You didn't have to do that."

Filch shrugged down at the kneeling boy. "I know, but it is fun."

That feeling of comfort had died faster than a mouthy muggle at Malfoy Manor.

The boat began to move and Harry braced himself against its side to avoid falling over. Harry glanced up at Filch and decided to try to pass the time with a bit of small talk. "So, how do you like your job?"

Filch gave Harry a look which made it clear how much he wanted to have a conversation with him. However, Filch had opened his mouth to respond when Harry's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he fainted. Filch looked at Harry's body on the floor of the boat and smiled broadly. "I like it better than I did a moment ago, Mr. Potter."

When Harry woke up he groggily rubbed his eyes and sat up unsteadily. He felt like he had just been hit with a very powerful stunner and couldn't quite shake off the aftereffects. When Harry managed to keep his eyes open for longer than a few moments he took in a sight that shocked him in how horrified he was just to look at it.

Harry Potter had always held the belief that his life had been depressing, but after he stepped foot into Limbo he believed he should have reserved judgment on that issue. Whatever he had once fantasized, imagined, or even feared his eternal resting place would be, it had been nothing like what was in front of him now. Harry's eyes swept over a bleak landscape filled with a very large number of people packed into it, which was no easy feat considering he couldn't see where this place ended. This place had to have won some sort of award for excellence in depressing people.

Harry felt uncertain about stepping further into this place. He had been told that this was the _nice_ part of Hell, and he didn't want to imagine what the other parts entailed. Harry took another deep breath to calm him and decided to walk forward. On the first step Harry slid into a mud pit that went up to his waist.

Whoever had first uttered the phrase 'Gryffindors Forward' could go to hell so that Harry could punch them in the face personally.

Harry called out to a person near him who was on their knees in apparent prayer. Harry got no response from the man no matter how many times he shouted. Harry was convinced that he was going to spend eternity waist deep in mud when he saw a familiar face walking towards him.

"Wotcher, Harry James Potter."

Tonks was completely different than everyone else around them. She had a lovely smile on her face and she did not seem to be more worn down than the last time they had met. In fact, if anything she seemed to be in better spirits. Her light blue hair was worn in a simple ponytail and her skin was darker than he had ever seen it, almost as if she had dedicated herself to getting a nice tan. Even her breasts seemed perkier than before.

Harry's observance of that last point did not go unnoticed by Tonks.

"Oy, Potter, eyes on my lovely face."

Harry's eyes snapped to Tonks' face which now had a duck bill on it. She began to make quacking noises and Harry could not stop himself from bursting into a fit of laughter.

"It is good to see you, Tonks. Not to interrupt our reunion but could you possibly help me out of here?" Harry questioned.

Tonks replied but it came out as a quack. She realized this and rolled her eyes. A moment later a pair of luscious lips had replaced the duck bill and she gave a reply Harry could understand. "Yeah, I suppose I can be bothered to do that," she said cheekily.

She leaned over and grabbed Harry's outstretched hand and pulled him out of the muck.

Harry looked down and realized that none of the mud had stuck to his clothes. Actually, he wasn't even wearing _his_ clothes. He was wearing a simple black robe that matched the one Tonks, and for that matter everyone else, was wearing.

"I don't remember having this on a minute ago..." Harry stated, his voice was filled with confusion.

"Right, that pit you fell into actually gets everyone. I have been here a very long time and I still don't know why they don't just get someone to hand you a bunch of clothes. God works in mysterious ways and all that jazz."

Harry nodded, he realized it wasn't exactly a pressing issue. "So... we ended up in hell." It was not Harry's smoothest icebreaker. That icebreaker had involved a butterbeer and a replica of a basilisk fang.

Tonks responded all the same "Yeah. It is a bit to take in at first, for sure. On the other hand being stuck in Limbo isn't so bad. After a while I realized I could still morph and had a good bit of fun transforming into other people and freaking them out. After a while though most everyone caught on so I kept myself busy by daydreaming about different paths my life could have taken. Different people I could have ended up with. Since I managed to weird everyone out so much I had plenty of space to role-play all sorts of kinky stuff. It is surprisingly easy to get lost in fantasies in such a dreary landscape."

Harry had realized halfway through Tonks' rambling that she was on the verge of tears and her hand was shaking violently. Harry was not the brightest of his generation, and that would have been considered a special kind of understatement when it came to women, but he had a feeling that he was talking with a very lonely woman right now. Tonks had always enjoyed the company of others and had always been great fun whenever Harry had the chance to talk with her. Being by yourself without your loved ones with the only thing to cling to being your own imagination was a cruelty befitting of their surroundings.

"Well, you've got me now! The hero always waits until the last moment to show up and save the day, right?" Harry gave her a lopsided grin.

Tonks laughed at the sight. Harry's attempt to pull off that type of face was adorable because of how serious he always looked. After a few moments her laughter turned to tears as she embraced Harry in a tight hug.

Harry was not used to receiving a lot of hugs, but nonetheless gently wrapped his arms around the distraught woman and patted her back.

This seemed to be what Tonks needed because after a moment she had calmed down enough to speak.

"I've missed everyone so much. Everyone else is gone, Harry. Either they aren't in Hell at all or they are in another circle of it. I've been by myself for so long, Harry. I don't want to be alone anymore, Harry. I don't want to be alone." Tonks renewed her sobbing into Harry's shoulder, unable to think about being alone without becoming distressed.

Harry was never very talented with words or women, but even he understood just how desperately the woman in front of him needed reassurance. With a certain redhead far from his mind, Harry spoke. "You don't ever have to be alone again, Tonks. I will never leave you. I promise." Harry tightened his hug on the woman as they stood in the middle of Limbo.

Unbeknownst to either of them they were being watched.


	3. Talking and Walking

**A/N: **In this chapter I attempt more humor. Two things before the chapter. First, acid is a tip of my cap to the story Renegade Cause by Silens Cursor. It is Harry/Tonks, and I enjoyed it. Secondly, I myself am a proud member of the house of Hufflepuff. Why am I saying this? You'll find out.

**Chapter 2**: Talking and Walking

* * *

"This is starting to get a little awkward," Tonks said with a slight blush on her face.

"I don't know… this is the nicest hug I have ever had. I don't think a few more minutes would hurt anything," Harry replied.

"Harry, you're pokin' me in the stomach." Tonks did not have to fight very hard to get some space as the clearly mortified Harry had blushed furiously and not offered any resistance in breaking the contact.

"I-I'm so sorry Tonks, I didn't mean to…to…" Harry was at a loss for words as to how to continue the apology.

Tonks rolled her eyes at the young man. "Harry, I can look however I want. You damn well better get a hard-on when hugging this wonderful body that I had the_ genius_ to think up or I'd think you had gone queer on me." Tonks winked at Harry.

Harry felt his embarrassment fade as he could not hold back his laughter. Tonks making light of the situation put him at ease. It was one thing to flirt with a pretty girl, but rubbing up against her was another thing entirely. He supposed that compared to being in hell for all of eternity having a faux pas was not something to stress over.

Tonks reached over and ruffled Harry's hair affectionately. "It's so cute when teenage boys think that women are offended by being told they are attractive." Tonks put a finger to her chin and assumed a mock-pensive pose. "Now that this _rousing_ friendship of ours has been renewed, I suppose we should get you settled into Limbo!"

"What is there to settle into?" Harry asked.

Tonks tilted her head to the side in thought. After a few seconds she shrugged. "Good point, Boy-Who-Boned-Me." Tonks laughed in delight at the grossly embarrassed look on Harry's face. Tonks almost felt bad sending him mixed signals, but felt that as a woman it was not only her right, but also her obligation to do so. "Almost everyone around here is a bit of a drag anyway. All they do is mutter to themselves, not a bag of fun or anything. I guess we could take the tour. I gotta tell you though it is quite the walk."

It was Harry's turn to shrug. "I think my schedule is clear for the next eternity. Lead the way, ma'am!" Harry shot Tonks a cheeky smile earning him a roll of the eyes.

They began to walk in comfortable silence, but after a while it became obvious to Tonks that the silence was growing more and more uncomfortable because Harry was trying to figure out something in his head.

Finally, Harry decided to attempt to verbalize his thoughts. "So…" Harry began.

"So…" Tonks mocked him back. She waited for Harry to begin, but he seemed lost in thought again.

They walked in silence for a while longer before Harry spoke again.

"I'm lost, Tonks. One moment I was standing in front of Voldemort ready to give myself up so that he could be defeated. The next, I am dead and speaking with Professor Dumbledore. Then I wake up in a cavern and I am told by some old man that I'm in hell now. So much has happened for everyone else and hardly anything has happened to me." Harry stopped talking with a look of confusion on his face. After a few seconds he continued. "What happened after I died, Tonks? I got the short version but what really happened?"

Tonks couldn't help the pained expression on her face. It had been a long time since the events happened, but it had also been a long time since anyone had asked her to relive the memories.

"After you died things got real bad real quick. Your body was tossed at the feet of Hermione and Ron. That wasn't pretty, it broke the both of them instantly. Most of us wished someone had taken the time to break Ron's jaw. Anyway, after seeing your closest friends give up everyone else followed." Tonks took a moment to wipe the single tear rolling down her cheek. "I was taken to a dungeon and Auntie Bellatrix decided that she was going to have a lot of fun with me. I don't know too many details outside of Bellatrix's gloating rants, but I know that you-know-who's reign was rough on everyone."

Harry's face scrunched up in distaste. "Tonks, you shouldn't call Voldemort that. Fear of a name-"

"- increases fear of the thing itself. Right, I got that. The only minor problem with your catchphrase there, sweetie, is that said _thing_ killed you, and then he proceeded to ravage the magical world for one hundred years before finishing up his magic hat trick by destroying all magic. If there is anyone who is ever going to have the right to be feared, it is going to be _you-know-who_."

Harry blinked several times after Tonks' speech. "You know, that is a very good point you've got there, Tonks."

"Thanks," Tonks replied.

"You've been preparing that speech for a long time, haven't you?" Harry questioned.

"Not as long as you've fantasized about doing me!" Tonks was satisfied with the beet red blush that crept up Harry's neck.

They continued walking in silence for a long time, passing countless people and walking over featureless earth. As they walked Harry noticed a fog that was barely visible when he had entered Limbo was now thickening. Harry turned around and noted that he couldn't even see ten meters behind him.

"Sure is foggy here," Harry said.

"Yup, you'll get used to it though. It thins out in certain areas while in others you can barely see your hands out in front of you. I think it's got something to do with that whole penance thing or something." Tonks shrugged, her own answer not sounding accurate to her own ears.

Harry didn't press the issue and they walked along the path towards their destination. At least, Harry hoped that this was the path towards their destination. Despite Tonks leading the way purposefully Harry wasn't too sure that Tonks knew exactly where she was going. Harry didn't feel any strain in his legs though. _The benefit of being dead_, he thought.

"I am sorry you know," Harry said abruptly.

Tonks gave him a sidelong look. "Whatcha sorry for, Harry?"

Harry let out a deep sigh. "Everything you had to go through. It was my fault. If only I had been smarter-Ow." Harry's apology was interrupted by a hand smacking him in the back of the head.

"I hear enough people asking for forgiveness down here, I don't need it from you too, Potter. Say sorry one more time and I'm gonna to snog you senseless!"

Harry smiled. "That would be a bad thing why?"

"Because I'll look like Draco Malfoy while doing it." A moment later Tonks felt guilty for saying that as Harry was on his knees gagging trying to wretch but coming up empty.

Wishing to dunk his head in a cauldron of acid to forget the mental image of Draco Malfoy that Tonks forced him to conjure up, Harry instead chose to keep his mind busy by changing the topic. "So any other friends of mine in Limbo?"

"Not as many as you might expect. Ron got to most everyone in the end, causing them to fall into the 5th circle of hell for those who are wrathful, if they didn't have any other sins that were prioritized over it. Oh, right, I almost forgot about the Hufflepuffs. Every single Hufflepuff is in Limbo as well."

Harry blinked and forgot to keep walking as he turned fully to Tonks, who stopped at his side.

"_All_ of them?" Harry questioned.

"Well it makes sense if you think about it. The other houses didn't want them, and neither did any other levels of hell."

"But surely one of them would have done _something_…" Harry tried to think of something to say, but before he could Tonks spoke up again.

"Nope, as boring a life as you could imagine for all of them. They have their own little space down here where they work on being loyal. A bit of a Hufflepuff themed circle jerk if you will."

"You mean _literally_-"

"No, not literally," Tonks interrupted. "Otherwise they would have gone to the second circle of hell, Lust." Tonks paused for a moment with a thoughtful expression on her face. "For that matter if they had the capacity to think like that the lot of them wouldn't have been sorted into Hufflepuff to begin with."

"So all they do is talk about being loyal?" Harry

"Well, they also talk about being hard working and being the best of friends."

"That sounds so repetitive… so boring…so…so…" Harry could not quite the word he was looking for.

"Hufflepuff," Tonks supplied.

"Exactly!" Harry said.


	4. Hufflepuffs Are Nuts

A/N: I shelved this fic for a few months to work on some other projects and have recently regretted it. I put up a poll on my profile and this story got smashed in a "what should I update next" poll. Twice! But this story did get a few votes, plus I actually like writing for this story. Big style difference though, I rely a lot less on dialogue this chapter. Feels more natural.

Limbo is going to be wrapped pretty soon. I just have a thing about Hufflepuffs, being one myself.

**Chapter 3: Hufflepuffs Are Nuts**

* * *

Harry and Tonks continued their journey through Limbo together growing closer along the way. That description is perhaps deceiving, as they didn't bond emotionally or anything of the sort. No, Tonks' constant physical prodding via pinching Harry in various exposed – and unexposed – areas ensured that they were always very close together indeed.

Alas, the deceased Harry Potter took this good-hearted sign of attraction the wrong way. For you see, if Harry Potter had thrown all of his gold galleons at someone he still would not be able to convince anyone to call him a lady's man. It was true that he had thought that he had found true love in the form of Ginny Weasley. However, in true Harry Potter fashion, he had made a selfless decision. Not only did he have to sacrifice the last embers of his childhood to defeat the Dark Lord Voldemort, but he had to do so while never getting laid. Being single may very well have many advantages while hunting a dark lord, but it certainly does not prepare you for one Nymphadora Tonks. Thus Harry tried to reason out why Tonks would do such a thing. That was his first mistake.

As cited Harry had no experience with woman and so he could only come to the conclusion that Tonks was having a go at him and so he schemed on how to gain his revenge on the metamorphmagus. That was his second mistake.

The Sorting Hat might have thought all those many long years ago that Harry would make a fine Slytherin but the boy in question continued to do his best to make the hat look bad. It was little wonder that the Sorting Hat had refused to put up a fight when the Death Eaters burned it to ash all those many long years ago. Could anyone live with the burden of knowing they had misjudged Harry Potter _that_ badly? Whenever Harry plotted he got a smile on his face so devious that having a neon sign over his head reading "currently plotting" could not make him any more obvious. Subtly was clearly lost on the dead Gryffindor.

Despite his obviousness, Harry was given the freedom to come up with a dastardly deed. Tonks was a sport about this sort of thing, after all.

In retrospect, she probably regretted the mercy she had shown.

Harry had thought himself clever when he had called his companion by her first name. He had thought himself especially cunning when he had kept repeating the name mockingly while doing a very poor jig around Tonks as she walked. His appreciation for his own cunning came to an abrupt end, however, after running for close to an hour being chased by the face, body, and voice of Draco Malfoy screaming raunchy pick-up lines. The Boy-Who-Lived was so utterly defeated by Tonks' assault that instead of thinking of revenge he wished very hard for the option to die again to get away from the vengeful Tonks. Sadly, no such option presented itself.

Finally something interrupted Harry's terrified screams. "Something" in this case just happened to be a massive stone castle that was not impressed by a skinny wizard smacking into it from a full run.

Tonks jogged up to him casually, back to her usual form, with a smirk on her face. "That's what you get, prat." She offered her hand and Harry took it gratefully.

Harry rubbed his head and craned his neck upward to attempt to get a better view of the hulking structure.

"I've never seen this before," Tonks murmured thoughtfully. She had a bad feeling about the very big castle in front of them.

A pleasant voice came from the top of the castle that sent a chill down Tonks' spine.

"Ah, Nymphadora! I see you've come back to us at long last. Have you reconsidered our offer to join us then? How pleasant."

Harry strained his eyes in an effort to see who was speaking when suddenly Tonks grabbed him roughly from behind and growled into his ear. "We've got to run. Now."

Harry was utterly bewildered. He had figured out a ways into their walk that Tonks had lost her mind but this was random even for her. "Tonks, what are you talking about? The woman up there seems nice enough."

Tonks rounded on him and for a moment Harry was taken aback by the sheer terror written plainly on her face. "You don't understand where we are Harry. I must have taken a wrong turn or something. We need to leave _now_."

Harry nodded solemnly. He thought Tonks was crazy but didn't want to see the face of Draco Malfoy again. Hermione had taught him sometime in third year that if he just nodded and looked very concerned when a woman brought a problem to him that he was less likely to be hexed or, in this case, tortured with the face of Draco Malfoy.

They both turned to rush away from the castle but their path was blocked.

"We…we weren't fast enough," Tonks stuttered out as she slowly backed away from the group impeding her and Harry's path.

The group in front of them appeared to be harmless, yet something bothered Harry about how they were dressed. There were two girls and three boys and all of them had the same inviting smile on their face. They were well groomed and they even wore matching clothing. The clothes were made up of mostly varying yellow colors with white and black trim where appropriate. Their shirts were bright yellow which contrasted nicely with their dark yellow dress pants.

"Hello Nymphadora. I am ever so glad you decided to visit us again. We have missed you dearly!" A blonde-haired girl exclaimed.

Tonks looked like she was going to be sick.

Harry cast a glance over at Tonks who kept mouthing "run" to him. Harry shrugged; Tonks sure did have a funny sense of humor. Harry looked back over at the group and decided it was time to introduce himself. "Hello. Sorry about Tonks, she can get a bit funny sometimes. I'm-"

"Harry Potter," all five of the group supplied for him.

Harry quirked an eyebrow to attempt to disguise the look of surprise on his face. That was remarkably creepy.

"How did you know-"

"My name?" All five questioned for Harry.

Harry's eyes narrowed. "Don't do that-"

"Again," all five finished. All five laughed mechanically in sync with one another at the irritated look on Harry's face before abruptly stopping at the same time and fixing their faces with the exact smiles they had on before.

Harry was starting to see why Tonks had wanted to get away from here.

After an awkward silent moment one of the women stepped forward and smiled kindly at Harry. "Hello Harry Potter. We have wanted to talk to you for a very long time now. When You-Know-Who blew up magic itself we had expected some news of you but it never came. Some of the weaker members of our organization even doubted your coming. However the Great Puff, our leader, foretold your coming and so we of the Hufflepuff knew that it must come to pass eventually. So we built this castle for you."

Harry glanced back over his shoulder to make sure the large castle he had bumped into earlier was still there. It was. He feared that he had suffered some sort of mental breakdown from trying to make sense of what he had just been told. Finally his mind registered that he was expected to respond to that. "Who are you? I know you were in Hufflepuff, but…" Harry trailed off, not sure what he was supposed to say.

The girl's smile seemed to strain and her eyes darkened slightly. "We do not believe in names any longer. We have given ourselves to something greater than our own identities could have ever allowed us to become. We are Hufflepuff. That is very important to understand, Harry. We want you to become one of us. We believe in friendship and hard work and we are ready to extend these qualities to you." The girl turned to Tonks. "With you as well, Nymphadora. The Great Puff was saddened that you have rejected us for so long but the Great Puff is a forgiving man." She turned back to Harry. "Let us get going, Harry. If you remain uninterested after visiting with the Great Puff you are of course welcome to abandon us like Nymphadora here has chosen to."

Harry nodded slowly. Hermione's lessons on women sure were coming in handy today. The Hufflepuffs were a strange lot, but they appeared to be harmless enough. As soon as the thought had passed through his mind an ominous thunderclap shook the surrounding area. Harry gulped. He was already regretting his decision to go along quietly. Well, Gryffindors forward and all that.

Then again the phrase "Gryffindors forward" was what got Harry killed and had ultimately caused the destruction of magic, so it remains a mystery why he still had any faith in that stupid saying.

Harry allowed himself to be led towards the castle by the five Hufflepuffs. Harry looked over at Tonks and saw her hair was black and ran straight down her back.

"Tonks you look like you are going to a funeral," Harry said trying to be funny. Like usual, he failed.

Tonks gave him a morose look. "We are having tea with the Hufflepuffs, Potter. This _is_ a funeral."

Harry chuckled nervously. Surely Tonks was being overly dramatic. How bad could people who believed in friendship and loyalty be?


End file.
